PastorRodney’s Weblog

2025 05/11 Psalm 7; The Righteous God Who Establishes the Righteous; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250511_psalm-7.mp3

Psalms: Prayer Book of the Bible

Psalms is the prayer book of the Bible. Whatever circumstance we are facing, whatever our struggle, however we feel, the Psalms can help us find words to seek help from the Lord in prayer. He is our very present help in times of trouble, and he is able to establish us in his own righteousness.

Slander and Lies

Have you ever been slandered, falsely accused? Your own conscience is clear, maybe you were misunderstood, maybe you are simply being lied about, but you know you own heart.

In Psalm 7, David finds himself falsely accused, attacked, threatened. Psalm 7 is a song of David which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjaminite. We aren’t told anything else about this Cush or what the context was. We do know that Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and when David was anointed by Samuel to replace Saul as king, it seems among the Benjaminites there was loyalty to Saul. In 1 Samuel 22, when Saul was hunting David; Saul in frustration said:

1 Samuel 22:7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”

We know later on, during Absalom’s uprising, as David was fleeing Jerusalem,

2 Samuel 16:5 …there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! 8 The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.” …13 So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

Take It To The LORD

We don’t know who Cush was, or what his accusation was, but we see David taking it to the Lord in prayer.

Psalm 7:1 O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;

save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

David is being attacked. He feels defenseless, as if he were pounced upon by a ravenous lion. He feels hopeless, helpless, about to be destroyed. But he knows where to turn; his continual practice is to run to YHWH for refuge. This is not his last resort, out of desperation, when nothing else is helping; no, he has made this his habitual practice. The LEB translates the tense ‘in you I have taken refuge’. In his fleeing from Saul, he hid in strongholds, in caves, in walled cities, in the wilderness; but ultimately his refuge is the Lord.

He appeals again to the Lord for rescue, for deliverance. The stakes are high. Either the LORD rescues him, or he will be torn apart.

I Am Innocent

In verse 3, he defends his own innocence and integrity.

Psalm 7:3 O LORD my God, if I have done this,

if there is wrong in my hands,

4 if I have repaid my friend with evil

or plundered my enemy without cause,

5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him trample my life to the ground

and lay my glory in the dust.
— Selah

Where in Psalm 6 David does not defend his own innocence but in the face of God’s wrath he appeals for undeserved grace, here in Psalm 7 he argues his own integrity. He appeals to God’s justice to defend him, because in this matter he has done nothing wrong.

In 1 Samuel as Saul hunted David, on two different occasions he was given the opportunity to kill Saul, but he demonstrated undeniably his own innocence, and sought to clear his name from slanderous accusations;

1 Samuel 24:9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

1 Samuel 26:23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.”

David pleads his own innocence in the face of false accusations. He is willing to pay the consequences if he is proven to be in the wrong before the LORD. But he is confident that if God hears his case, he will be acquitted.

-Selah; pause, reflect, worship.

YHWH The Warrior King

Psalm 7:6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;

lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.

7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;

over it return on high.

David is calling out to YHWH the Warrior-King to go out to battle for him. In Numbers 10, Moses was instructed to make two silver trumpets to communicate with the camp of Israel, to assemble them, or to call them to battle.

Numbers 10:9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.

The trumpets were a way to communicate with all the people, but also as a symbol to arouse God’s attention and invite him to act. Throughout their time in the desert, the glory cloud indicating the presence of YHWH would lead them and be their protection. When the people departed from Sinai for the first time;

Numbers 10:34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”

This battle cry for YHWH to arise and scatter his enemies is what David uses here to invoke the Lord to action. His circumstances make him feel as if the Lord is not paying attention, as if the Lord is asleep. He calls on God to arise, lift yourself up, awake! Remember me and save me! And he looks for God the Lord to return from battle victorious, enthroned in victory, seated, ruling over his people,.

Let the Judge of All the Earth Bring Justice

Psalm 7:8 The LORD judges the peoples;

judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may you establish the righteous—

you who test the minds and hearts,

O righteous God!

10 My shield is with God,

who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge,

and a God who feels indignation every day.

Here he acknowledges the justice of God who is the judge of all mankind. God is not passively ignoring injustice; he feels indignation every day, as Paul says in Romans:

Romans 2:4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

There is a day appointed, a day of wrath;

Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Retributive Justice

Psalm 7:12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;

he has bent and readied his bow;

13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his arrows fiery shafts.

14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil

and is pregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

15 He makes a pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

16 His mischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

We are often uncomfortable with the idea of God’s wrath, but that is the necessary outflow of God being just and righteous. A just God will punish sin. Evil is fertile, reproducing, filling the earth, but it is also fatal. There is poetic justice here; the one who digs a pit will fall into it; the wicked one who stirs up trouble will bring that violence down crushing his own skull. In the law it says:

Deuteronomy 19:18 …if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.

Often our sin creates its own consequences. God is just, and a just judge must punish sin. But as we saw in Psalm 6, God not only just. He is also gracious, extending kindness in place of his wrath to those who humbly ask for his grace.

The ‘If’ of Repentance

David holds out an incredible ‘if’ even to his enemies, even to the wicked. If a man does not repent, there will be wrath and fury. You will get what you deserve. But the implication is that if even a wicked evildoer repents, turns from his wickedness, turns to the Lord humbly asking for mercy, there is a way for God’s wrath to be turned away.

How can God be just and judge the wicked, but also extend grace to sinners like me who simply ask for it? How can he be just and the justifier of the sinner who cries out to Jesus?

The Gospel Refuge of God’s Righteousness

In this psalm, David invites YHWH the righteous judge to judge him. That is a bold move for a sinner. Although in this particular situation, David had a clear conscience before God, we know David was not perfect. He was guilty like the rest of us, of lust, greed, pride, falsehood, even betrayal and murder. And yet he turns to God as his judge, his salvation, his shield. He acknowledges that God is absolutely just and feels righteous indignation toward our sin every day. And yet instead of fleeing from God, he runs to the Lord as his only refuge.

David recognizes that it is God who brings the evil of the wicked to an end, and establishes the righteous, and he invites the righteous judge to bring justice.

I am wicked. I am a treasonous lawbreaker. But when I cry out in humility and faith ‘God be merciful to me a sinner’, God brings my evil to an end – it is finished; paid in full. God establishes me as righteous; not intrinsically righteous as if the righteousness were based on my perfect record, but based on the perfect record of Jesus credited to me. The only way for integrity to be in me is for Jesus, who is perfect righteousness, perfect integrity, to be in me. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…” (Gal.2:20)

Jesus in Psalm 7

In this Psalm David is unjustly accused, threatened by those who, like lions, would tear apart his soul, and he feels as if God is not paying attention to his plight. He cries out for salvation. The greater Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, falsely accused, acknowledged innocent by the governmental authority, yet condemned to execution. He cried out to the Lord who had seemingly forsaken him, but instead of being saved, he bore in his body on that cursed tree the just wrath of Almighty God poured out against my sin. The appointed judgment that I deserve came to him. His glory was laid in the dust. There was no rescue for him so that today, for all who cry out to him, he is our refuge, our shield, he brings my evil to an end and establishes me as righteous in him. He is the one who was lifted up, not lifted up to fight against his enemies, but lifted up on a cross in place of his enemies, paying my price in full. He is now enthroned over us today, and we, the redeemed, worship him. We gladly bow the knee, as we wait expectantly for him to return from on high.

Our response?

Psalm 7:17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

2025/05/04 Psalm 6; My Soul is Troubled; Be Gracious to Me; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250504_psalm-6.mp3

Intro: Psalms

When the disciples asked our Lord to teach them to pray, he didn’t lecture them for hours what prayer is, how it works and why. He simply said ‘pray like this’ and gave them a prayer to pray. He granted them access and invited them to start praying with a model of what it looks like to pray. In the Psalms we have a whole book (and one of the the longest books) of divinely inspired prayers from a variety of circumstances, expressing a full range of human emotions. If we’re not sure how to pray, or just can’t seem to find the words, the Psalms can help.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer called Psalms ‘the Prayer Book of the Bible’; he says: “This is pure grace, that God tells us how we can speak with him and have fellowship with him.” [Bonhoeffer, p.12; Psalms: the Prayer Book of the Bible; Learning to Pray in the Name of Jesus]

Psalm 1 speaks of the blessed man, the happy man, the Righteous One, who is planted by streams of water, the one rooted in and delighting in the instruction of the Lord, who prospers in everything he does, who bears much fruit. He is contrasted with the wicked, who are like empty chaff blown away by the wind.

Psalm 2 points us to YHWH and his Anointed (or Messiah; the Christ); that when wicked men plot against his anointed, they plot in vain; he who sits in heaven laughs. The Lord has set his king on Zion his holy hill. His only begotten Son will strike them with a rod of iron and shatter them like pottery. He warns all to submit to his son or suffer the consequences; all who take refuge in him are blessed.

The first two Psalms together provide an introduction to the Psalms, and set up the contrast between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.

Psalm 3 is a desperate cry of the Anointed to the Lord for rescue from his enemies. It was written when David fled from his son Absalom during his attempted overthrow of David’s reign. Psalm 4 could have risen out of the same circumstance, expressing David’s inner turmoil as his character was maligned and lies and half-truths were circulating about him. Psalm 5 is a prayer expressing David’s confidence in the God of justice.

Psalm 6

Today we are going to look at Psalm 6.

Psalm 6

To the Choirmaster; with stringed instruments; according to “The Sheminith.” A Psalm of David

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath.

2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;

heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

3 My soul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O LORD— how long?

4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

6 I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7 My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Sometimes, as in Psalm 6, we wish we knew more precisely the background of what was happening, but where specificity might render the Psalm inapplicable, the ambiguity of language allows us to adopt the language of the Psalm and apply it to our own varied circumstances.

Clearly this prayer arises out of a heart weighed down by grief, even depression or despair. It senses the Lord’s displeasure, his wrath, and yet cries out to him for help. Because verse 2 asks for healing, it could refer to some chronic illness or debilitating disease. Where the end of the Psalm turns focus to foes, the enemies could be gathering because they see the sickness as God’s punishment, or it could be that their attack and slander is the cause of the deep depression and distress, even leading to physical symptoms.

Whatever the source of our distress, there are words here to help us bring it to God and find hope and help in him. This is the first of seven penitential Psalms traditionally sung or recited on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, the 40 days leading up to and reflecting on the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord.

Anger and Wrath; Rebuke and Discipline

The Psalm begins by acknowledging God’s anger and wrath, expressing an acute awareness of sin and its consequences before a holy and just God. God is just, and must punish sin; we are sinners and fully deserving of his anger and wrath. God’s righteous wrath is not wrong. It is not pleasant, but it is good.

The Proverbs extol the blessing of rebuke and discipline;

Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. 13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,

God’s discipline, God’s reproof, lead to wisdom and his blessing. David is not asking exemption from these instruments of God’s correction; only that they not be carried out to the full extent of his anger and wrath. In God’s covenant with David (2Sam.7:13-15) to build him a house and install one of his sons on the throne forever, God promised both his discipline and his steadfast love. David is not looking to escape these hard blessings of God, but rather to escape his anger and wrath.

This word ‘rebuke’ is a word taken from the law-courts; it points to a legal dispute, arguing a case, establishing who is in the right. We see this kind of language throughout the book of Job.

Job 9:28 I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent. … 32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. 33 ​There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.

Job 13:3 ​But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.

Appeal to YHWH for Grace

If the LORD has a legal case against me, to whom can I appeal? There is no higher court than that of YHWH himself. So we see in this Psalm the Lord’s anointed king calls on the name of YHWH. YHWH is the greatest threat (that is why the fear of him is wisdom); YHWH is also our only hope! So the first word of this Psalm calls on the covenant name YHWH; YHWH may you cease from rebuking in anger; cease disciplining in wrath.

In verse 2 he asks for grace. As sinners, grace is our only hope. Extend to me a kindness I do not deserve! Not in your anger, not in your wrath (both are deserved); but in your grace; extend favor I do not deserve. Extend kindness apart from my merit.

And here he gives a reason; I need your grace, YHWH, because I am weak. Frail, sick, languishing. How many of us like to admit our weakness? It takes humility to admit I am not strong enough, I am weak, I need your help. But that is our very best argument with God. It just doesn’t work to say ‘give me your grace, because I deserve it’ or ‘help me, even though I don’t really need help; I can do it without you’.

1 Peter 5:5 …Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

There is no benefit in boasting of our own strength. We access God’s strength on our behalf, his grace, when in humility we own our weakness, our neediness, our lack. ‘Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am weak, frail, feeble’; be gracious, because I need your help.

Heal Me For I Tremble Violently

Heal me, for my bones are shaking; my soul is violently shaking. I am trembling, in terror, to the core of my being. This is the word from Psalm 2, where the Lord ‘will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury’ (v.5). A right understanding and awareness of who God really is, what he is like in all his majesting holiness and absolute righteousness, should create in us sinners a healthy fear of him; as Jesus said:

Luke 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

This is someone who believes he is experiencing the discipline and correction of the Lord, who is trembling and terrified in the presence of YHWH. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps.111:10). And yet that fear does not drive him to try to hide from the Lord but rather to turn to the Lord, to cry out to the Lord.

How Long?

His fourth cry to YHWH trails off. He doesn’t finish his thought; ‘and you, LORD…’ He doesn’t know what to say, but he knows to whom to direct his cry. ‘You, YHWH…’ I don’t even know what I need, but I know I need you.

All he can say is ‘How long?’ The implication is that it’s been too long, that he can’t endure much longer. But within the ‘how long’ is implicit hope, that things are not as they ought to be, but he is holding on to a promise that one day all will be made right. How long?

Save For Your Steadfast Love

Psalm 6:4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

Turn, YHWH. Turn away your anger and wrath. Save me. Why? Not for any good that I have done, but because of your own character. Because of your promises. Because of your faithfulness. Because of your covenant love. Save me, not because of who I am, but because of who you are.

Save me. Why? Because in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? This is not a denial of the conscious experience of the afterlife; we see clear signs of that even in the Old Testament; in Psalm 139 ‘If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!’

Job says:

Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

For the believer in Jesus, to be ‘away from the body’ is to be ‘at home with the Lord’ (2Cor.5:8).

But the focus in the Old Testament is on worship in the congregation. We were created to worship; created to draw near together, to remember together and to remind one another of the goodness of God. The grave robs us of what we were created to do, and robs God of his due. It robs us of true human dignity and purpose. If he delivers us it frees us to sing to the praise of his glory.

Godly Grief Leads to Repentance and Salvation

Psalm 6:6 I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7 My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

There is no request in this section, only an expression of overwhelming grief. It is right to grieve over our sins. True sorrow over sin turns the Lord’s heart toward us. A godly repentant grief over sin brings salvation (2Cor.7:9-10). One day God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Rev.21:4).

Depart From Me

Psalm 6:8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

There is a drastic change in the tone of this final section of the Psalm. As far as we know, nothing has changed in the circumstances. But the Anointed has run to the LORD for help, brought his request to the LORD, in humility and repentance, and is confident that the LORD has heard his weeping, the LORD has heard his request for grace, and that the LORD will accept his prayer.

Jesus; David’s Greater Son

There are a couple Jesus sightings in this Psalm that I want to bring to your attention. This is a Psalm of David, but David’s greater Son is the one who experienced the full reality of this Psalm, where David’s experience was only a shadow. ‘My soul is greatly troubled;’ Jesus takes these words on his lips in John 12

John 12:27 ​“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

We see this trouble of soul, this weeping in the garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus was about to drink the cup of the wrath of almighty God against all my sin on the cross, and the thought of it shook him to the core of his being.

What are you facing? Jesus understands. He is the ‘Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief’ (Is.53:3). You can ‘cast your cares on him, because he cares for you’ (1Pet.5:7).

‘Depart from me, all you workers of evil.’ Jesus also speaks these words, no longer as the suffering servant, but now as the sovereign returning king, purging his kingdom of all who have set themselves in rebellion against him.

Matthew 7:21 ​“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 ​On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 ​And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

These are seemingly on his side, but have refused to come to him on his terms; they seek to impress him with what they do, not coming in humility, acknowledging their need, desperate for grace, eager for relationship. This is the only way we may come to him. Any other way, and we are ‘workers of evil’ and will be the ones who are ‘ashamed and greatly troubled’. Either we receive by faith that he was ‘greatly troubled’ for us, or we will be ‘greatly troubled’ before him on that day.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04/27 He Is Risen! (So What?) – (1Cor.14; Rom.6,8; Eph.1,3); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250427_resurrection-so-what.mp3

He is risen! [He is risen indeed!] Last week was resurrection Sunday. On this the week after resurrection day, I want to ask; ‘Why does the resurrection matter? How does the resurrection of Jesus affect my life today? What is different? What’s changed? What if Jesus didn’t rise, and it was all a hoax; would it matter? Would anything actually look different in our lives?

I want us to take a minute and chew on that. What is different in my life today because Jesus is alive?

Still In Your Sins

At the most foundational level, the resurrection is an essential component of the gospel. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then we are still in our sins. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

If Christ is not raised, gospel preaching is a waste, faith is a waste, church is a waste, there is no good news, no salvation, no hope beyond the grave. As Paul says later in this chapter:

1 Corinthians 15:32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

If there is no resurrection, then we might as well enjoy all we can in this life, because this is all there is.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

Because Christ has been raised, we have a real expectation of our own resurrection! The resurrection of Jesus changes everything!

Jesus’ Claims Confirmed

Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that he would suffer, be killed, and rise from the dead.

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (cf. Mt.17:23; 20:19; 27:62-64; 28:6)

If Jesus was not raised from the dead, he’s a liar and a false prophet. But if Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, we must reckon with who he claimed to be.

On Him The Father Set His Seal

Not only did Jesus claim to be the way, the truth and the life, the I AM, the Father also testified to the identity his only Son; on two occasions the voice came from heaven ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Mt.3:17; 17:5). Paul says in Acts 17

Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

The Father raised Jesus from the dead, affirming to all that he is who he claimed to be, and his sacrifice for us was accepted.

Because his disciples hid in fear, and the tomb was empty, and his enemies failed to produce the body, because he is risen, we know that Jesus is who he claimed to be.

Died with Christ and Raised with Him

So what difference does it make? For us who are putting our trust in Jesus, it makes all the difference in the world! Romans 6 tells us although it is true that ‘where sin increased, grace abounded all the more’ (Rom.5:20), it does not follow that we ought to ‘continue in sin that grace may abound’ (Rom.6:1).

Romans 6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

This is victory! Because we are united to Christ in his death and resurrection, we are dead to sin and sin’s power is broken. We are set free to walk in newness of life! Notice this is not automatic. We must (that’s an imperative) consider or reckon ourselves dead to sin. It is a theological truth that we who believe are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. As believers, we need to believe it, count it as true and remind ourselves of that truth and walk in that truth. When sin rears its beautiful head tempting us to indulge in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the sinful pride of life, we must say ‘No! I am dead to that. The old me that indulged in those things is dead, buried, gone. It’s a new me that feeds on new pleasures, better pleasures, greater pleasures; I am united with Christ, raised with Christ, I get to enjoy friendship with Jesus and with the Father. I am alive to God in Christ Jesus.’

Here’s what Ephesians says; Paul prays:

Ephesians 1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Paul prays for our eyes to be opened to know him, to know what we have in him, to know what is true of us because we belong to him. The immeasurable greatness of almighty resurrection power is at work in us who believe! That same power that took that horribly beaten and mortally wounded corpse of our crucified Lord, who had been dead three days, and brought him back to life, that’s the very power that is at work in us today.

Don’t tell me those temptations are too strong. If you belong to Jesus, if you are in Jesus, you have access to the immeasurable greatness of his resurrection power that can take your dead corpse and give it new affections, new desires, you can put the old you to death and walk in newness of life.

Raised to Live For Him

Here’s what this looks like:

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

…17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The love of Christ controls us. We live no longer for ourselves. We live for Jesus. All because of Jesus we are reconciled to God, and we have been commissioned as ambassadors to proclaim that good news, imploring others on the basis of the death and resurrection of Christ, to be reconciled to God. We have this greatest of all privileges; to live for his glory, to invite others in to enjoy this God with us!

We Live For Him (but not in our own strength)

How does this work? Paul prays for us again in Ephesians 3:

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We are to live for him, but not in our own strength. He prays for the gift of strengthening with Holy Spirit power. Don’t try to do this in your own strength. You can’t. You need Holy Spirit power. You need Jesus living in you. You need to be filled with all the fullness of God. You need him doing far more abundantly than all you could ask or think according to his power, not yours.

The Transforming Power of the Indwelling Spirit

Here’s what Jesus said. He was telling his disciples that he was going to the Father, and sorrow filled their hearts;

John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Jesus had said in John 14:

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Back in John 7, he said:

John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jesus must go to the cross, pay for our sins, be raised and ascend to his Father’s side. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. It is to our advantage that Jesus is no longer physically with us, because now he has sent the promise of the Father, the Person of the Holy Spirit to be in us forever. He is the helper, the advocate, the comforter, and the source of this resurrection power at work in us. Notice that the Spirit is called ‘he’, not ‘it’. Violating the rules of grammar, the neuter word ‘spirit’ gets the masculine personal pronoun ‘he’ rather than ‘it’ to emphasize that the Spirit is not an impersonal force, but the third person of the triune God. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, God the Spirit comes to live in believers, equipping and enabling us to walk in his power.

Romans 8 says:

Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

It is the life-giving Spirit of God who lives in us, who gives life to these corpses so that we can live in step with the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the body.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Jesus Is Preparing a Place For Us

If all this seems too much, it just keeps getting better. Here’s what Jesus said in John 14:

John 14:1 ​“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

What has the risen and exalted Jesus been up to for the last 2000 years? He said: I go to prepare a place for you! This is our eternal hope! Jesus is preparing a place for us to be with him forever.

Jesus is Interceding For Us

Just one more. Romans 8;

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Did you catch that? Jesus is praying for us! The resurrected Jesus, seated at the right hand of his Father in glory, is praying for you. Do you think he knows what we need? Do you think he has our best interest in mind? Do you think the Father will answer his prayers?

Hebrews 7 says:

Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04/20 Resurrection Sunday: Sting of Death (1Cor.15); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250420_resurrection-sunday-sting-of-death.mp3

Today is Resurrection Sunday; He Is Risen! [He Is Risen Indeed!]

The tomb is empty. Death has been decisively defeated by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Death The Unavoidable

Death. Here’s the ugly fact. Death is a reality we all have to face. The death rate among humans is roughly 100%. Likely all of us know someone who has died. Maybe you or someone you know are facing death soon. It’s a reality every one of us, sooner or later, must face. And none of us has any guarantee of tomorrow. Every breath is a gift. The preacher (Ecclesiastes) says it is better to go to a funeral than a wedding;

Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.

Everybody will face death one day, and wisdom says we ought to take it to heart. The Psalms tell us:

Psalm 39:4 “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! 5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! — Selah

Psalm 90:10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 144:4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Death is a reality we would all like to ignore, busy ourselves with something, anything, that will keep our minds off that grim reality. We use euphemism to attempt soften its blow, like ‘he passed away’; ‘she’s no longer with us’ or ‘gone on to a better place’, ‘gone on ahead’; sometimes we try to make light of it; ‘she’s pushing up daisies’ or ‘he’s six feet under’. Death, when we are forced to face it, seems foreign, unnatural. We seek to avoid it at all costs. Why?

Death Is Unnatural

First of all, we learn from the Bible that death is unnatural. It is foreign. It is our enemy. But it is what we deserve.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

It all started in the garden.

Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

… 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Rules, rules, rules. So oppressive, so limiting. You just don’t want me to have any fun at all. Understand, God made a luscious garden, and he put the man and his wife, both naked and unashamed, into the garden and said ‘enjoy!’ Look, touch, taste, enjoy, everything!’ It is all made for you, for your good, for your pleasure. Only one thing is off limits. Only one rule. A test; will you obey, will you trust, will you believe that I am good and give you every good thing to enjoy (Ps.84:11)? Or will you doubt my character, will you question my goodness, will you choose your own wisdom and make your own rules? Today there are over 2,000 different types of fruit, and each type of fruit has many varieties; apples for instance come in 7,500 varieties. What it was then we can only imagine, but they easily could have enjoyed endless variety, and each other, for a hundred years without ever feeling the need for something new. They had purpose, to tend and protect the garden, and they had the privilege of walking with their Creator, getting to know him every day. And God was not unclear about the consequences. “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, …

We don’t know how long they lasted, but it may not have been even a full day before they listened to the lie of the serpent, began to distrust their Creator, and stepped out into open rebellion. How much of that garden, made specifically for them, would they never have the opportunity to enjoy?

It all started in the garden. Death was not part of the original creation; it began as a result of our rebellion that day. My sin doesn’t affect only me; it affects everyone around me. Their sin affected all of creation: Romans 8 tells us:

Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Death Is Not The Worst Of It

Here’s the reality we all endure.

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

You probably came on resurrection Sunday to hear an encouraging message filled with hope… hold on, we’ll get there! But first, it gets worse.

Death is not the worst of it. If it were just ‘game over,’ ‘dust to dust,’ ‘the end,’ that wouldn’t be so bad. But here’s what Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

And here’s what Jesus says in Matthew 13:

Matthew 13:40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus is clearly warning us. And you might be thinking, ‘yes, finally, those evil people will get what they deserve.’ But hold on a minute; raise your hand if you’ve ever had a covetous thought. That means you wanted something someone else had. That’s commandment 10 of the big ten (Ex.20:17). You’re all a bunch of lawbreakers. Do you see what Jesus says about all law-breakers?

Jesus he gives us a really important piece of wisdom:

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Fear God. Don’t fear people. The worst people can do is kill you. But the just judgment of God is far worse.

Here’s what 1 Corinthians 15:56 says:

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Wasps and hornets wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for their stings! You see, death stings because the death is the consequence of our sin. And the power of sin is the law. God’s law shows us the standard we are to measure ourselves by, and demonstrates how far we fall short. How are you doing at loving God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength? How are you doing at loving your neighbor in the same way as you love yourself? (Mt.22:37-39). Death stings because it is a reminder that we are lawbreakers and we deserve the just wrath of an all holy God.

The Gospel

So where’s the good news in all of this? Well, it starts by a proper diagnosis of our disease.

1 John 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. …8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. …10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

But there’s good news in the middle of all that;

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we confess; if we agree with God that sin is sin and we are guilty sinners, he is faithful to cleanse us and to forgive us. He is faithful; he promised and he will make good on his promise. When we confess, he is faithful to forgive and cleanse, every time.

And he is just …wait, how can God justly sweep our sins under the carpet and treat us as if we had never sinned? That’s the heart of the good news. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul concisely states the gospel he preached.

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

This is the gospel we must be trusting in in order to be saved; The Messiah died for our sins. Jesus took the sting out of death because he stepped in as my substitute and let that stinger sink right into him. The sting of death is my sin and the power of sin is the law, and he stood in my place and took the legal consequences of my sin on himself. The judicial sentence was carried out on him. He was executed as a criminal on a Roman cross. In those three hours of darkness he experienced the wrath of God against my sin. He paid my legal debt in full. He died, and he was really dead; they buried him. The soldiers made sure he was dead by piercing his side to release a flow of blood and water. On testimony of the centurion Pilate released the corpse to Joseph. Nicodemus met him with about 75 pounds of spices.

Full Circle; Death in the Garden; Life from a Garden

John 19:40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

We rebelled against our Creator in a garden. The sentence of death was given in that first garden. But Jesus proved fully obedient to his Father in another garden; ‘Yet not my will but yours be done’. Jesus was buried in a garden. But he didn’t stay dead. The Father raised him up on the third day as a declaration that his wrath toward my sin was satisfied in Jesus. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was accepted by the Father on my behalf. And he proved he was truly alive by appearing to many eye-witnesses.

We all will experience death one way or another, but for the believer in Jesus, the sting of death is removed. Death has a say, but it does not have the final say. The resurrected Jesus took the sting out of death for me.

Death Swallowed Up

Here’s how 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter, ends:

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you in Christ by faith? Have you agreed with God about your sin, and received the forgiveness that is only available at the cross, through the finished work of Jesus? Are you clinging to this good news; receiving it, standing in it, being saved by it, holding fast to it?

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04/18 Good Friday; 7 Sayings/ Veil Torn; (Mt.21, 27); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250418_good-friday-veil-torn.mp3

Welcome/Intro/Prayer:

Today is Good Friday, the day we commemorate the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, the day he ‘bore our sins in his body on the tree’ (1Pet.2:24).

I invite you to enter in, become one of the bystanders to this most horrible, most beautiful event. Stand at the foot of his cross. Sing. Worship him for he is worthy. During the time Jesus was suspended there between heaven and earth, drawing each labored breath by lifting his own weight by the nails that pierced his hands and his feet, he spoke. Seven times he spoke, and in those seven statements from the cross, he summarized his mission.

1) Jesus came to forgive his enemies (while we were his enemies, Christ died for us; Rom.5:8,10)

2) Jesus came to make a way for us to be with him forever

3) Jesus came to care for the needy, to connect us with a body who cares for one another.

4) Jesus came to experience God-forsakenness, so we would never be forsaken

5) Jesus came to satisfy our eternal thirst

6) Jesus came to pay our debt in full

7) Jesus declared that no one took his life from him; he had the power to lay down his life, and the power to take it up again (Jn.10:18)

Stand at the foot of his cross. Look. Listen. Sing. Worship him for he is worthy. Give your life to him, for he is trustworthy.

[pray]

***

Song: Man of Sorrows

Saying 1. Father forgive them (Lk.23:33-34)

Luke 23:33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Song: Jesus Your Mercy

Saying 2. Today you will be with me (Lk 23:39-43)

Luke 23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Song: My Worth is Not in What I Own

Saying 3. Woman, here is your son (Jn.19:26-27)

John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Song: How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

Song: Lord I Need You

Saying 4. Why have you forsaken me? (Mt.27:46)

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Song: The Cup Was Not Removed

Saying 5. I Thirst (Jn.19:28)

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

Song: There Is Power In The Blood

Saying 6. It Is Finished! (Jn.19:30)

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” …

***

Message: Veil Torn (Good Friday)

Luke 23:44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Matthew and Mark also record that after those three hours of darkness on the cross, about the time that Jesus died, the curtain or veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. What is this curtain, and why is this so significant?

In Exodus, we read the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle, YHWH’s portable sacrifice and worship tent; later replaced by the temple in the promised land, in Jerusalem. The tabernacle grounds, or courtyard which had a fence around it was to be 75’ x 150’ (for reference, that’s about 2.5x wider and 2x longer than this room); just inside the entrance of the courtyard stood the large bronze altar for burnt offering, and behind it the large bronze wash-basin from which the priests would draw water for cleaning up the bloody animal mess. Behind this was the entrance to the encolsed tent; the first section was called the holy place which was 15’ x 30’ and housed the lampstand, the table for the bread of the presence, and just outside the veil the altar of incense. Then behind the veil, the most holy place (15’x15’) which housed the ark (or box) of the covenant, containing the Sinai covenant written on stone, topped with the mercy seat or atonement cover. It was above this mercy seat, between the cherubim, that God’s presence was manifest. This inner sanctuary or ‘holy of holies’ was separated from the holy place by the curtain.

Exodus 26:31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

The stated purpose of this curtain was to separate. This curtain was decorated with cherubim. The first mention we have of cherubim is after mankind rebelled against their Creator, despised his goodness, heeded the voice of the serpent rather than obeying the word of their God, and did the one thing he commanded them not to do.

Isaiah 59 tells us:

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

That’s the same word ‘separation’ we find describing the veil in Exodus 26. In response to our rebellion in Genesis, God

Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

The cherubim, or mighty warrior angels, were stationed at the east of the sacred garden (by the way, the Tabernacle was always to be positioned with the entrance to the east). This curtain or veil, with representations of warrior angels, blocked access to God’s manifest presence. My iniquites have made a separation between me and God.

Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, …6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing

This is the veil, the curtain of the temple, separating us from the presence of God, embroidered with mighty warrior angels barring access to his presence, that was torn in two from top to bottom.

It seems ironic that the four soldiers who crucified Jesus, who were dividing his garments among them, refused to tear his tunic, but rather cast lots for it, because it ‘was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom’ (Jn.19:23). But the Father, on the death of his only Son, ripped the curtain that denied access to him from top to bottom.

Jesus said:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Romans says:

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified (declared not guilty) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Sinners declared not guilty, reconciled to the Father by faith into an undeserved status. Our sure hope through Jesus is to enter in to enjoy the glory of the Father and the Son. Ephesians says:

Ephesians 3:11 … Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Hebrews says:

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

This is what Jesus accomplished on the cross. This is what is so good about Good Friday. Because Jesus bore my sin in his body on the tree, I now have access by faith into this grace in which I stand. There is no other way, no other access, than through faith – trusting in, depending on – Jesus alone, his finished work, his payment in full, for my forgiveness, my justification. Reconciling me, a sinner washed clean in his blood, to a holy and just God. It is all grace – a gift I don’t deserve – that I must receive by faith.

***

Saying 7. Father into your hands… (Lk.23:46)

Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Song: All Hail King Jesus

Song: All Sufficient Merit

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Closing:

1) Jesus came to forgive his enemies; have you confessed that by your sins you have made yourself his enemy?

2) Jesus opened up a way for us to be reconciled to him

3) Jesus came to care for the needy (and we are needy!), to connect us with a body who cares for one another.

4) Jesus came to experience God-forsakenness, so we would never be forsaken

5) Jesus came to satisfy our eternal thirst; are you spiritually thirsty today?

6) Jesus came to pay our debt in full; It Is Finished!

7) Jesus had the power to lay down his life, and the power to take it up again, and he gives eternal life to all who come to him and believe in him!

[invitation/prayer]

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04/13 Palm Sunday; Hosanna; Behold Your King; (Mt.21, 27); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250413_hosanna-behold-your-king.mp3

Today is Palm Sunday. If you remember two weeks ago we looked at John 12, where Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with very costly fragrant oil. His disciples objected to the waste, but Jesus affirmed what she did as a ‘beautiful thing’. He recognized it, not as the anointing for service as a prophet, priest, or king; but in preparation of his body for burial. John continues:

John 12:9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

This is ‘Palm Sunday’.

The Humble King (Zechariah 9)

Matthew’s account fills in some details.

Matthew 21:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

This is a quote from Zechariah 9, written some 500 years earlier.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. .. 16 On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. 17 ​For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! …

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he had avoided unnecessary attention. After many of his miraculous healings, “Jesus charged them to tell no one” (Mk.7:36; Lk.5:14; 8:56). He “strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ” (Mt.16:20).

John 6:15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. (cf. Mt.14:22; Mk.6:45)

Jesus said things like ‘My hour has not yet come’ (Jn.2:4). But on this occasion, he intentionally orchestrated his public reception into Jerusalem. He presented himself to the crowds as their coming king, righteous and having salvation. Not riding in on a mighty war horse, but humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The Son of David

Matthew 21:6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The crowds hailed him as ‘the Son of David’. In the Old Testament, this phrase is used almost exclusively in reference to Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. God said some amazing things to David about his son. Through the prophet Samuel, God said:

2 Samuel 7:11 …I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

God promised that David’s house, David’s kingdom, David’s throne would be established forever. But the heart of David’s son Solomon was led astray by his foreign wives to serve other gods;

1 Kings 11:11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.

It is not until Matthew 1 do we read:

Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

In response to the mighty works Jesus did;

Matthew 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

Jesus himself said;

Matthew 12:42 ​The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

After Palm Sunday, after Jesus is hailed as the coming King, David’s greater Son, after again cleansing the temple, on Tuesday of Passion week,

Matthew 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44 “‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Jesus presents himself not only as David’s greater Son, one greater than Solomon, but as David’s Lord, David’s Master.

Hosanna; Save Now!

Matthew 21:9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Not only did the crowds hail Jesus as David’s greater Son, but they welcomed him with the words of Psalm 118; ‘Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Here’s a little more of the context of Psalm 118

Psalm 118:19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 ​The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 ​Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

In Matthew 24:42 Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22, identifying himself with the stone the builders rejected. The people recognize that this is the day that the LORD has made, a day of rejoicing, a day of salvation. So they cry out ‘Hosanna!’, the Hebrew of Psalm 118:26, which means ‘Save now!’ or ‘Save us we pray’. The people recognize Jesus as the King who is bringing salvation, who comes in the name of, with the authority of, as a representative of YHWH God himself.

Luke tells us that;

Luke 19:39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Romans 8 tells us that all creation is groaning to be set free. All creation must recognize their coming King and Creator. One day the mountains will break forth in singing; the trees clap their hands (Is.55:12). “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble…” (Zech.9:9).

Behold Your King!

We are going to jump forward in the story. After being condemned by the Jewish Sanhedrin of blasphemy for claiming to be the cloud-riding Son of Man from Daniel 7, when they brought him before Pilate, among other things, they accused him of claiming to be Messiah, a king (Lk.23:2).

Mark 15:2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”

Mark 15:12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”

Mark 15:16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

John 19:14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

John 19:18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

John tells us at the beginning of his gospel:

John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

He Saved Others; He Cannot Save Himself

Just a few days earlier the people had been crying out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mt.21:9). Hosanna; ‘Save us we pray! Save now!’ Now,

Matthew 27:39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Their cries turned from ‘Save us, we pray’ to a mocking ‘save yourself’. Even the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders could not deny that Jesus saved many. Salvation in the general sense can mean rescue from any danger; rescue from drowning, rescue from disease, rescue from demons. Jesus made the blind see, the lame walk, lepers were cleansed, even the dead were raised. The evidence was too much even for Jesus’ enemies to deny or ignore.

He saved others. That was their admission. But looking at Jesus, nailed to the cross, their assertion was ‘He cannot save himself.’

Jesus was in complete sovereign control. We saw that last week, when we looked at the garden and the cup. Jesus had determined to drink the cup that his Father had given him to drink. Jesus was no helpless victim; he was a willing substitute. Jesus said:

John 10:17 …I lay down my life… 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

Jesus was not a victim of an unfortunate turn of circumstances. The Word who was with God and who was God, the one who created all things (Jn.1:1-3) ‘humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil.2:8).

There was truth to what they said deeper than they knew. In order to save others, he could not save himself. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt.26:39). Jesus came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt.20:28)

The omnipotent Son of God had the power to come down from the cross, but even if those who demanded it would have then believed in him, they would perish in their sins, because it was only in the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God that sins could be taken away. It is because he willingly chose to stay on that cross and endure the wrath of God against my sin, that I can today believe and be saved. Hosanna; save us we pray! That is why he came, and that is what he accomplished there on the cross.

And because he did, there is another Palm Sunday coming;

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04/06 The Garden and Cup (Mt.26; Jn.18); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250406_garden-and-cup.mp3

We are two just under two weeks away from Good Friday, the whole reason Jesus came to the earth. In preparation for Good Friday, I want to look today at the gospel according to Matthew, chapter 26; the account in the garden of the olive-oil press, or Gethsemane.

Last week we looked at the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany, a week earlier. Jesus acknowledged what his disciples considered a waste as a beautiful thing, preparing his body for burial. Throughout his life and ministry, and especially in the final weeks leading up to the cross, our Lord had his eyes fixed on what he came to do. He came ‘to give his life a ransom for many’ (Mt.20:28). But this ‘waste’ of about a year’s wages was the event that settled Judas’ suspicion that Jesus’ priorities were not in line with his own, and he resolved to betray the Lord for money.

Psalm 41:9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Warning: Left Alone but Never Alone

After Jesus’ last Passover meal with his disciples, after Judas was excused from the meal to do what he intended to do,

Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

We see the compassionate warning of the Lord, letting them know what would happen before it happened so that when it happened they would know that it was all part of the plan. And we see the ignorant self-confidence of Peter and the rest of the disciples.

John gives us much more of the teaching Jesus gave to his disciples. John records:

John 16:32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.

For eternity Jesus had always enjoyed an intimate relationship with his Father. Even when people desert him, he is never alone.

Let This Cup Pass From Me

Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 ​Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Jesus began to be grieved and distressed. He told his disciples his soul was deeply grieved even to the point of death. What was it that brought such turmoil to our Lord? The focus of his prayers was ‘the cup’. He was willing to drink the cup, but asked if there was any way possible for the cup to pass from him without drinking it. What was this cup that troubled the Lord so deeply that he recoiled from it?

Clearly it was nothing that happened in the garden, because John tells us that during his arrest in the garden, when Peter attempted to fight and struck the servant’s ear with his sword,

John 18:11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

As he was being led away, the cup was still something coming that he was resolved to drink. Matthew records:

Matthew 26:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 ​Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 ​But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

Sovereign Sufferer

It was not as if Jesus was out of options and not in control. Events were unfolding precisely as planned in order to fulfill the Scriptures. In fact we read something startling in John’s gospel.

John 18:3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

Jesus said literally ‘I am’. This is one of the many ‘I AM’ statements of Jesus, claiming to be the great I AM, YHWH God of the Old Testament. We are told that one day every knee will bow to Jesus, and even that dark night at his betrayal and arrest, he was in absolute sovereign control of what was unfolding. He revealed his identity as the I AM, and as if his very words were a sovereign wind, all his enemies, the soldiers and officers, along with Judas, found themselves prostrate with their faces on the ground before King Jesus.

If Jesus wanted to avoid what was coming, his Father could have sent more than 12 legions of angels. If Jesus wanted to avoid what was coming, his own word carried sovereign power. But Jesus intended to fulfill the Scriptures. He intended to drink the cup that the Father had given him to drink.

The Cup of Wrath in the Prophets

So what was this cup that troubled him so, yet he was resolved to drink? Jesus tells us that it would fulfill the Scriptures. If we look to the prophets, we begin to see what this metaphor of the cup was pointing to.

Isaiah 51 is promising that YHWH will comfort Zion (v.3); that he will set his justice for a light to the peoples (v.4). He says ‘the heavens will vanish, and the earth will wear out like a garment, but my salvation will be forever’ (v.6); ‘my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations’ (v.8).

Isaiah 51:11 ​And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 “I, I am he who comforts you… 16 ​And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, …and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

In verses 17-23 he looks back over the history of his disobedient people.

Isaiah 51:17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. … 20 ​Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God. 21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine: 22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; 23 ​and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”

Disobedient Israel got what they deserved. He was rightly angered by their rebellion, so they drank from the hand of YHWH the cup of his just wrath. But the Lord is promising to take from their hand the cup of staggering.

Jeremiah speaks similarly; in Jeremiah 25, the Lord promises 70 years of captivity in Babylon for his wayward and rebellious people, and for those nations who led them astray, but then he will punish Babylon also for their deeds.

Jeremiah 25:15 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.” 17 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it:

Jeremiah 25:27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.’ 28 “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! 29 For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.’

YHWH God has a cup of the wine of his wrath in his hand, and he will make those who have rebelled against him to drink it.

Through the prophet Habakkuk, God says:

Habakkuk 2:16 …The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory!

Even Job speaks of the wicked ‘drinking of the wrath of the Almighty’ (Job.21:20).

The cup in the Old Testament prophets is the cup of the wine of the wrath of God; it is God’s hot and holy anger toward those who violate his righteous requirements. It is the just punishment we deserve.

Jesus Became Sin

This Old Testament context helps us make sense of what is going on in the soul of Jesus in the garden. Jesus is in extreme anguish. Luke records

Luke 22:43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Why was Jesus in such agony of soul? Jesus came to drink the cup of Almighty God’s wrath toward the sins of mankind. Jesus had never sinned. But he knew that on the cross he would bear our sins in his body (1Pet.2:24). He bore our griefs, he carried our sorrows, he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, the LORD laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is.53:4-6). He who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf (2Cor.5:21).

Jesus had never been alone. He had never been separated from his Father. But sin makes a separation from God (Is.59:2). On the cross, Jesus’ prayers changed from ‘Father, forgive them’ (Lk.23:34) to ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Mt.27:46). Somehow Jesus knew that in drinking the cup of God’s wrath he would experience a God-forsaken alienation from his Father, and this was too much for him to bear.

Matthew 27:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

On multiple occasions through Jesus’ life, the Father spoke from heaven, this time in the garden the heavens were silent. The only answer came in the form of an angel sent to strengthen Jesus to do what he had come down to do. It was not possible to accomplish the mission any other way. There is no other way for our salvation but through the cross of Christ our Lord. It was the will of the Lord to crush him (Is.53:10). In that ‘nevertheless’ is our salvation.

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

In spite of his anguish, Jesus was resolute; ‘shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?’ (Jn.18:11).

The Coming Cup of Wrath

There is still a future cup of wrath that the nations will drink; all those who refused to come to Jesus, trust him to drink the cup they deserved. Either Jesus drinks the cup in your place, or you will drink it yourself.

Revelation 14:10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Revelation 16:19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.

But for all those who call on Jesus for rescue, we have another cup that we will drink of;

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 ​The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” 5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.

Psalm 116:12 What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

03/30 Lent: The Waste of Worship (Mt.26; Mk.14; Jn.12); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250330_waste-of-worship.mp3

Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent; the word ‘lent’ comes from the Old English ‘lencten’ which refers to springtime and may come from the ‘lengthening’ of the days in the spring. In the church calendar, it is a 40 day period leading up to Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday, and is traditionally a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving with the intent of opening our hearts to the events of passion week. It is similar to the weeks of advent leading up to the celebration of the incarnation at Christmastime.

For these three weeks leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, I would like to look at some of the events in the final weeks of our Lord’s life leading up to his death on the cross for us and for our salvation.

Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12 record Jesus in Bethany, a small village just outside Jerusalem, home to the recently resurrected Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha. John puts this event 6 days before the Passover, probably Friday evening or Saturday, the week before Jesus went to the cross.

Mark 14:1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” 3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” 10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

There couldn’t be a starker contrast than in these verses. This woman, Mary of Bethany as we learn from John, who took possibly her most valuable possession, and broke it open and poured it out on the head of Jesus, running down to his feet, in an act of worship.

And then we have the disciples and Judas, indignant, who look at what she did as pure waste, a foolish, ruinous and reckless act. Such a radical difference in perspectives. Is worship a waste?

The Pragmatic Perspective

There’s the pragmatic perspective; this was clearly a valuable resource, and it is now destroyed, irretrievably gone. This fragrant oil was worth more than three hundred denarii; a denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer, so three hundred denarii would be about a year’s wages (the median wage in the US is now over $40,000). In comparison, when there was a crowd of five thousand men plus women and children, and it was getting late and they were all hungry, the disciples ask sarcastically “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” (Mk.6:37). In that ratio, one denarius worth of bread would be shared between 25 people. That’s a lot of poor people that could have been fed with the plan of the disciples. Jesus had told the rich young ruler “sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mk.10:21). No wonder they were indignant at this waste.

Judas’ Dirty Secret

John lets us in on Judas’ dirty secret. John tells us it was Judas who made this argument for feeding the poor.

John 12:6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

I have to wonder, what was Judas doing with the money? They were living and traveling together; when sent in to town to buy supplies for the group, did he get himself an ice cream cone? Did he take some of the money, not enough to be obvious, but enough that over time it would add up, and sneak off and bury it under a tree somewhere? When Peter, James and John were arguing about who was to be the greatest in the kingdom, was Judas quietly smirking, knowing that whoever landed the highest positions of prominence, he would at least have the resources to satisfy all his cravings?

But we can’t be too hard on Judas; Matthew and Mark both record “there were some who said to themselves indignantly, ‘Why was the ointment wasted like that?’”. Judas was not alone in his opinion that this was a waste of perfectly good resource. His opinion may have poisoned the thoughts of the other disciples. But where they heeded Jesus’ rebuke, Judas was resolute in his pursuit of personal gain.

Both Matthew and Mark insert this narrative of the anointing into the account of the chief priests searching for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and Judas going to them and agreeing to betray him for money. They do this to give the backstory and make clear the connection of Judas’ motive and the event that pushed him over the edge.

Judas Wasted the Greater Treasure

Remember, Judas was one of the chosen 12, with Jesus throughout the majority of his three years in public ministry. He was eye-witnesses to countless supernatural signs; healing the sick, making the blind see, the lame walk, setting those oppressed by demons free, walking on water, calming a storm, feeding a multitude, raising the dead. John tells us:

John 20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 21:25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Judas was eye-witness to this, and yet he did not believe. Judas was among the apostles who had been sent out by Jesus with authority to proclaim the good news and cast out demons; he had personally experienced the power of Jesus working through him, yet his love of money robbed him of the greatest treasure. I wonder what he was thinking during Jesus’ interaction with the rich man;

Mark 10:21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

Judas had idolatry of the heart that enslaved him, prevented him from worshiping freely the one true God. It was he who truly wasted the greater treasure.

Mary’s Heart of Worship

There were probably more, but there are only 2 other recorded interactions of this Mary of Bethany with Jesus; the first is in Luke 10, where:

Luke 10:39 …Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. …41 But the Lord answered her, … 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The other is John 11, when Lazarus was ill;

John 11:3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Jesus delayed until Lazarus was dead in the tomb 4 days, so that he could display his glory and raise him from the dead.

John 11:20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

…32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and

John 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

What is shocking is the level of unbelief of the chief priests; we are told:

John 12:10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

In the next chapter John records the anointing of Jesus by Mary:

John 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Martha again is serving, but this time without the distraction and complaint. We find Mary again at the feet of Jesus. It is interesting that Matthew and Mark both emphasize that the woman anointed the head of Jesus. Matthew’s account focuses on Jesus as the fulfillment of Hebrew expectation, the anointed Messiah, King of the Jews, and so to anoint the head would be the focus of his attention, while John focuses our attention on the self-humbling of the Eternal One, who though he was in very nature God, emptied himself by taking the form of a slave. In the very next chapter, John will record Jesus humbling himself to wash the feet of his disciples, who were too proud to wash the feet of one another. But here in John 12, Jesus receives the lavish worship of a woman who is willing to take the lowest place.

The word worship [προσκυνέω], although not used in this passage, is a graphic word picturing the submission of a dog to its master. Worship requires humility. Mary took the lowest place, and with no concern for her own reputation let down her hair to wipe his feet.

No expense was too much; Mary poured out extravagant worship, the very best she had. As David said so many years earlier “…I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing” (2Sam.24:24). The one who is forgiven much loves much.

Jesus’ Interpretation

Is worship a waste? Jesus said that it was a beautiful thing that she did to him. He received her worship. He approved of the extravagant waste. It is right, in the presence of Jesus, to give him everything. Is Jesus not concerned with the poor? To us who do not have the physical presence of the Son of God with us, he says

Matthew 25:40 …‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

But Jesus’ interpretation of her action is surprising. We might have expected him to affirm her anointing him as appropriate because he is the greater Prophet, and our great High Priest.

Psalm 133:2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

He is the Anointed One, Messiah, King of the Jews.

Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 ​you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;

But this is not the oil of gladness. At least we would expect him to acknowledge her anointing as the anointing of appropriate hospitality to an honored guest, as he did the sinner who anointed him at the Pharisee’s house in Luke 7

Luke 7:44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 ​You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 ​You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

But Jesus interprets this anointing differently. He says:

Mark 14:8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.

Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time:

Matthew 20:18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Did Mary pick up on this where the disciples didn’t? Had she even heard that he had said these things? Did she perceive the mood of Jerusalem and the imminent danger when the disciples were oblivious? Or was this simply a spontaneous overflow of her worship that Jesus recognized was perfectly timed? Jesus’ attention was fixed on the mission he came to accomplish, and that was to die for the sins of mankind. He came to die, to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to lay down his life. He was on his way to die, and he recognized her anointing as the anointing of a body for burial. What a waste! And yet the fragrance of her worship filled the house. May the fragrance of our extravagant worship fill his house today!

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

03/23 Church; Every Member Ministry(1 Peter 4); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250323_church-every-member-ministry.mp3

Jesus said:

Matthew 16:18 …on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus promises to build his church on the solid foundation of his own divine identity is Messiah, Son of God. The church gathers to worship, and to recognize one another as members through baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church scatters for evangelism. The church operates under Jesus’ authority to make disciples of all nations.

We’ve been looking at the church, who makes up the church, what the church is and what we as the church are to be about.

We have seen that the church is a Holy Spirit created New Covenant community of born again baptized believers. The church consists of all those who call on King Jesus for salvation; all those who swear allegiance to him (through baptism), publicly identifying as his followers.

The church is a temple, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit; as living stones joined together we enjoy the presence of God among us.

The church is the betrothed bride of Christ; Jesus purchased us with his own blood, he is washing us, purifying us, sanctifying us, so that our affections are only for him, as we eagerly anticipate his return for us.

The church is a family, who love one another and seek to uphold the family name.

The church is a flock, stray sheep brought into the fold by the good Shepherd, those who know the voice of the Shepherd and follow him. As sheep we are prone to wander; we are to hold one another accountable and go after the strays, those who begin to wander away from their Shepherd.

The church is a body made up of many diverse body parts, each with unique God-given gifts that allow the body to function properly as each member does its part.

Practical Every Member Ministry

As we’ve looked at who and what the church is, I trust we’ve seen some useful truths that we’ve been able to put into practice in our own lives, and our life together as the church. Today I want to get really practical and look at what every member of the church does.

Understand, the church is an every member ministry; there are not performers and consumers. None of us are to be passive recipients; we are all to be active participants. We all are called and equipped by God’s grace to be ministers of the gospel, and we all are to receive gospel ministry from one another. To minister simply means to serve. Ministry is service.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Here’s a short list of some of the things that every member does: believe, be baptized, devote yourself to the teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and the prayers, love, give, serve, share the gospel, be discipled and disciple others.

One-Another Loving Service

I Peter 4 says:

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Do you see the ‘one-another’s’ in this passage? Keep loving one another, show hospitality to one another, serve one another. As members of a body, various body parts, we have different gifts, different functions, different roles in the body. But whatever gift we have (and this passage makes it clear that every believer has been given gifts), use those gifts through love to serve one another.

Do you know anyone particularly gifted in hosptality? Have you experienced the blessing of being a recipient of that gift? Do you know anyone especially gifted in generosity? In teaching? In serving? Have you ever thanked them for blessing you through their service, and they respond something like ‘Oh, it was nothing.’ It was not nothing! It was profoundly meaningful and impactful. But that may be a way of saying that the act of service was simply doing what that one was created and gifted to do. It seemed natural to them (although we know it is supernatural, Holy Spirit empowered and enabled).

You may not know what gifts you have received, but do this: pay attention to the needs around you and in love seek to serve others, for their good, to bless them, and you will most likely end up using your God-given gifts.

We are all differently gifted (that’s what makes up the body), but there are certain things we all are to be about.

Believe and Be Baptized

Every believer must be a believer. That ought to go without saying, but we must say it. The church is built on the real identity of Jesus of Nazareth. If you aren’t trusting in the real Jesus, you aren’t a genuine believer. You may attend church services, but you are not a member of the church. You don’t really belong. But that’s the beautiful thing about Jesus’ church; you may not be believing, but there is a standing invitation calling you to believe and enter in. No matter who you are, no matter where you’re from, no matter what you may have done, you are invited to turn away from whatever you were trusting in, turn ot Jesus, depend on him alone for your eternal hope, enter in to a relationship with Jesus, and as an extension, with his church.

Believe and be baptized, where you publicly confess Jesus as your Lord and rescuer, and where the church hears your testimony of faith in Jesus alone and welcomes you in to the fellowship.

Teaching and Fellowship, Breaking Bread and Prayers

As we saw last week in Acts 2, all who received the word, the good news of Jesus crucified, raised, exalted and reigning, all who pledged allegiance to him as King were baptized and added to the church, and they were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers (Ac.2:41-42).

All were devoted to the teaching of the apostles. All the believers were listening and learning together. They had the privilege of hearing the apostles’ proclaim the good news and teach from the Scriptures. We now have the apostolic word written, the prophetic word more fully confirmed (2Pet.1:14-19). We as the church gather to devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching.

All believers were devoted to the fellowship. We have Jesus in common, and we gather to celebrate that sibling bond. We don’t gather because we have hunting of fishing or cars or sports or hobbies in common, we gather because we together are forgiven and set free by the blood of the only Son of God (1Jn.1:7). We devote ourselves to the fellowship.

All believers were devoted to the breaking of bread. Jesus said “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk.22:19). Breaking bread together is a weekly way of affirming for ourselves and to one another that we are still standing firm in the good news that is the only thing that is saving us. We devote ourselves to reminding one another and remembering together the once for all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our sins.

All believers were devoted to the prayers (Mt.6:9-13). Prayers of worship and adoration to God, prayers for his name to be lifted high, prayers that he be honored on earth as in heaven, prayers for our needs (and we have many), prayers for one another, prayers for our brothers and sisters, prayers for our leaders, prayers for the world. We devote ourselves to the prayers.

Give

We also saw in Acts 2 that:

Acts 2:44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

All the believers were practicing generosity. They were giving, supplying one another’s needs. The Old Testament laws of tithes and offerings were replaced by a spirit of abundant generosity and practical meeting of needs. Later we read:

1 Corinthians 9:13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

We are not under Old Testament law, but just as a starting point, and because it makes the math easy, if we take the tithe (which means a tenth) and each family were to give a tenth of their income, ten families together would give one average family income, and a ten family church would be able to support one pastoral family in full time ministry. If there were twenty families, they could support two pastoral families, or maybe one family and rent for a place to meet. Again, we are not under Old Testament law, but the gospel sets us free to be more generous. The church, inspired by the lavish generosity of God in the gospel, was generous with one another. The church gave to the point that ‘there was not a needy person among them’ (Ac.4:34).

Be Discipled, Evangelize, Make Disciples

The church exploded exponentially because disciples were making disciples.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 ​Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples of the nations, and he anticipated that his disciples would make disciples who would make disciples who would make disciples to the end of the age.

What does making disciples look like? It’s not primarily ‘come with me to hear the professional speaker at church and maybe you will be persuaded to give your life to Jesus.’ This was ‘I’ve been transformed by Jesus as you can plainly see, and I would like to tell you how you can have your sins forgiven and enter into a relationship with Jesus too, and then you can get connected with the church to publicly confess your faith in him and grow together with the other believers.

Jesus made disciples by spending time with his disciples, mentoring them, teaching them, letting them get to know him and discover who he really is, to the point that when he said difficult things, things that were to swallow, like:

John 6:56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 …whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

When he asked if they too were going to turn back and stop following him, they were able to respond:

John 6:68 …“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Evangelizing (which simply means proclaiming the good news) is something that followers of Jesus do. We have been told the greatest news ever, and we want others to get in on the sweetest of all deals that we have been given. This is the great exchange; I get to trade in my sin, my shame, my sorrow, my guilt and the condemnation I deserve, and Jesus takes it all, pays my price in full, and he gives me as a gift his own perfect record of righteousness and invites me in to relationship with him forever?? It doesn’t get any better than that!

2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Evangelism is simply taking the greatest of all messages, receiving it, believing it, being changed by it, and letting others in on it. Remember, we are not making disciples of us; I don’t want any mini-me’s running around! We are inviting people to become disciples of Jesus along side of us.

And notice what Jesus says ‘teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’ That is not ‘come to Jesus and have your sins washed away but don’t let him change your life.’ This is receiving the gospel, standing in it, holding fast to it, being transformed by it. This is learning to walk with Jesus through the good, the bad and the ugly. This is following Jesus even when it’s costly. This is taking up your cross and following Jesus. We are not only called to make disciples but to be disciples, and being disciples means being discipled (Heb.10:23-25). We need each other. We have blind spots we cannot see, so we need others alongside us to graciously point out those blind spots so we can grow and follow Jesus more closely. We need the accountability and the one-another ministry of the body. We need to be both giving and receiving one-another ministry. Encourage one another. Stir up one another to love and good works. Through love serve one another.

Summary

The church is an every member ministry: there are no spectators; we are all active participants. Every believer believes in Jesus and is baptized as a public confession their union with Jesus, Every member is devoted to the teaching, the fellowship, the breaking bread, and the prayers, Every member through love serves one another, Every member gives generously, Every member shares the good news, is discipled and seeks to disciple others.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

03/16 Church; Gathered and Scattered (Acts 2); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250316_church-gathered-scattered.mp3

We’ve been looking at the church, who makes up the church, what the church is and what we as the church are to be about.

We have seen that the church is a Holy Spirit created New Covenant community of born again baptized believers. The church consists of all those who call on King Jesus for salvation; all those who swear allegiance to him (through baptism), publicly identifying as his followers.

The church is brothers and sisters, adopted into the same family, who seek to uphold the family name.

The church is a flock, stray sheep brought into the fold by the good Shepherd, those who know the voice of the Shepherd and follow him. As sheep we are prone to wander; we are to hold one another accountable and go after the strays, those who begin to wander away from their Shepherd.

The church is a holy temple, a dwelling place for God; we join together as living stones and enjoy together the presence of God among us.

The church is a body made up of many diverse body parts, each with unique God-given gifts and abilities that allow the body to function as an organic whole, working together to accomplish what any one part could never accomplish on its own.

The church is the betrothed bride of Christ; Jesus laid down his life to make us his own, he is washing us with the word, making us pure and holy, so that our affections are only for Jesus, as we wait for him to come and take us to be with him forever.

The church unites around Jesus, the truth about who he is, the true transformation that he brings about in the lives of his followers through the good news; the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

We looked at the church local and the church universal; the one universal body of Christ that spans history and geography; all who in every place call on the name of the Lord (that’s the church universal). Every true local church is a subset of the universal church, those who gather together locally under the sovereign Lord Jesus.

The Church Gathered

That’s important to see. The local church gathers. In Acts 1, the Apostles and the rest of Jesus’ followers were together and were devoting themselves to prayer. In Acts 2, on the feast of weeks or Pentecost, which is on the first day of the week, they were all together in one place when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Peter proclaimed Jesus as both Lord (YHWH) and Christ (Messiah), Jesus crucified, raised to life, seated in glory at the right hand of his Father, pouring out the promised Spirit on his followers.

Acts 2:41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

This is the birth of the church Jesus promised to build. Those who received the good news of Jesus, who he is, what he came to do, were baptized and added to the church. Think about this; that gathering of the church on Pentecost was both the church local and the church universal. It included all believers in Jesus, all gathered in one place. In the rest of Acts, we see the gospel advancing and spreading, and not again will we see the church universal gathered in one place until that day we gather around the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Devoted to The Teaching

But look back at Acts 2 to see what the newly birthed church was about:

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The church was earnestly committed to, devoted to, adhered strictly to the teaching of the apostles. The truth about Jesus was central to the church. I’ve heard it said that doctrine divides, and that’s true. Truth is absolute. There is right and wrong, true and false. True teaching divides truth from error, the genuine from the false. But doctrine also unites, it gives those who believe true teaching an immovable anchor that bonds us together in a robust unity. Jesus’ church is built on his true identity and mission.

Devoted to The Fellowship

The church devoted themselves to the fellowship, that which we share, what we have in common. There is a sweet fellowship even between strangers when we discover that we are following the same Jesus. We may have nothing else in common, but if we have Jesus, that is enough. The church was committed to, held tightly to, devoted themselves to the fellowship. This might be so obvious it shouldn’t need to be said, but you can’t have fellowship all by yourself. Fellowship is a community word.

I’ve heard people say ‘I feel closest to God when I’m out in nature, up on the mountains’. And if that’s you, I get you! There’s something restorative, therapeutic to be out in God’s creation, breathing fresh clean air, enjoying the vastness and majesty of everything he spoke into existence. It can help us regain a sense of awe and wonder. But as close to God as you might feel on the mountain, that’s not church. Church is not a feeling, it’s not a place, it is a fellowship of people. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

Church is gathering together with other people in the name of Jesus. And that’s where Jesus promises that his closest presence will be experienced.

Devoted to The Breaking of Bread

The church devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. At his final Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Breaking bread together was a standard part of any meal together. Jesus filled this everyday routine with new significance. The good news is that Jesus gave himself up for me. His body was broken for me. He wants us to remember him together as part of our fellowship as his church.

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

This is another picture of our unity as we gather as one body. Breaking bread together is a regular way of remembering Jesus and affirming our allegiance to him. Breaking bread together is a way to affirm one another as members of this new covenant community. The church devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.

Devoted to The Prayers

The church devoted themselves to the prayers. Prayer was something they did together. They prayed with one another and for one another. Once we were strangers and aliens; now fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God;

Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Together we can seek God’s face. Together in the Spirit we have access through Jesus to the Father.

The church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.

Community and Outreach

Acts 2:44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

The Temple

A word about the temple in Jerusalem; the word for ‘temple’ here refers not to the temple building itself, the holy place, but to the whole temple area, including the courtyards. No one but the priests could enter the actual building. But the temple courtyards were places where people could gather, sing, worship, pray. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day;

Mark 11:17 …“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

When the disciples went to the temple together, they were using it as God intended, to be a place of prayer. But we see the transition happening. As Jesus taught the woman from Samaria,

John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. …23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

That one temple was destroyed in 70 AD and never rebuilt. The prophet Ezekiel saw a vision of the divine presence, the glory of God leaving the temple because of the rebellion of his people.

Throughout the New Testament, as we have seen when we looked at the church as a building, we, the church, are the living stones who make up the dwelling place for God. When we see the disciples going up to the temple, it is usually to pray, or to interact with people, to teach, to point them to Jesus, the greater temple (Mt.12:6).

Community and Outreach

Acts 2:46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This community, this unity, being together, having things in common, led to outreach. ‘The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.’ God used this kind of connected gathered community of diverse people to reach more people with the good news of salvation in Jesus. Jesus himself said:

John 13:35 ​By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Our love for one another, in spite of our differences, even in spite of our disagreements and frustrations and irritations, ‘bearing with one another in love’ speaks volumes of the uniting power of Jesus and is a powerful witness to the watching world.

The Church Scattered for Evangelism

But notice this is not only the gathered church. Day by day, in the community, in each other’s homes, in the workplace, their lives pointed to Jesus. As they went about their days, Jesus was shining through them, inviting others to find the joy and peace and hope that they had found.

Jesus promised his presence with us when we gather in his name. Jesus also promises his presence when we scatter for evangelism and disciple making.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 ​Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We were never meant to be septic tanks of God’s grace, where everything flows in and nothing flows out. We were meant to be conduits of God’s grace to others. Paul says of the relatively new church in Thessalonica,

1 Thessalonians 1:8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

This is natural. When you find a great deal, an amazing restaurant, a funny video, don’t you tell your friends about it? You see a spectacular sunset, find a glorious mountain vista, you instinctively want to find someone who can enjoy it with you. The gospel is the sweetest, richest, most gloriously beautiful and satisfying truth. It is too good to be true, but it is absolutely true! It is news too good to keep to ourselves. We must invite others to taste and see that the Lord is good!

Summary

The church is built on the gospel foundation of who Jesus is and what he came to do. Those who believe and are baptized are added to the church. The church is to devote itself to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. The church as a community gathered is to be a light and witness for Christ, and the church is to scatter for evangelism.

We, the church, are to be advancing on enemy territory, breaking down the gates of hell, setting the captives free, seizing ground for our King of kings.

Matthew 16:18 …on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Do Not Neglect to Meet Together

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org